1 . The arts, especially music, should be part of every school’s lessons at every grade level. Students would be much smarter if they had some musical experience. They could improve their classroom skills, like paying attention and following directions. People develop all these skills when they learn music. Making music also lets children use their imagination. It provides students with a chance to try out their own ideas.
Music not only makes children better students, but also gives them something positive (积极的) to do. In a music program, children can be part of a band. Parents can enjoy listening to their children’s music instead of seeing them glued to a computer or TV screen. In a school band, students get to be part of a team. They can get along well with old friends and make new friends through music.
Music builds self-confidence, too. It gives children a sense of achievement and success. Making music is something for them to be proud of, and it lets kids practice performing in front of audiences. Music gives children an opportunity for self-ex pression, and that helps develop their self-confidence. Once again, music is important because it can make children better students, give them something positive to do, and build their characters. That is why music should be offered in every single grade in every school.
1. How could music make students smarter?| A．By improving their memory and attention. |
| B．By improving their classroom skills and imagination. |
| C．By making them brave, knowledgeable and modest. |
| D．By learning music, making music and trying out their own ideas. |
| A．Unwilling to turn on. | B．Always turning off. | C．Unwilling to leave. | D．Always hating. |
| A．Music brings children success. | B．Music gives children self-expression. |
| C．Music helps children achieve their dream. | D．Music develops children’s self-confidence. |
| A．Music Is a Must as a Course at School | B．Music Builds Children’s Self-confidence |
| C．Music Makes Students Much Smarter | D．Learning Music Is Very Important |
2 . Throughout history, music spread among people of different cultures. In today’s technological advanced society, however, people spread music online, sometimes without an artist’s permission. This can lead to many problems, and music companies are now cracking down on this practice. Sharing music online without permission is theft.
Sharing music online prevents recording companies from making money from their efforts. They say that sharing music online has resulted in a huge drop in profits and sales over the past 10 years. People who find music for free online are not paying for CDs or every piece of music downloaded. To truly understand the influence of music piracy (盗版行为) on creators, one must understand how many people are involved in the recording process. For the sale of each album, profits must be shared among musicians, sound engineers, music producers, managers, advertisers, and the company selling the product. Many people believe sharing music only affects the recording artist, but the reality is that sharing hurts business for all companies involved.
There are many people who don’t see the harm in sharing music online and even think they have the right to do it. One online blogger states that he originally paid for an entire CD and that he should be able to do with the material whatever he wants. While he may have legally paid for the music, he does not have the right to share it without permission, which means people like the blogger are thieves.
Although we don’t spread music the same way we did before, there’s no doubt that people around the world love to share music. However, Internet piracy will prevent musicians from continuing producing albums for fear of theft. Therefore, if people want to continue listening to their favorite artists, they need to buy their music so that artists will make enough profits to continue their music careers.
1. What does the underlined phrase “cracking down on” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?| A．Bringing up carefully. |
| B．Speaking highly of. |
| C．Dealing seriously with. |
| D．Destroying completely. |
| A．All bloggers are acting like thieves. |
| B．Once paying for a CD, you can treat it at will. |
| C．Many people have difficulty understanding CDs. |
| D．People who share music online without permission can be called thieves. |
| A．Sharing music online affects a lot of people. |
| B．Artists are taking action to protect their right. |
| C．Sharing music online increases sales of music CDs. |
| D．A person who buys a CD has the right to share it online with others. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Favorable. | C．Disapproval. | D．Skeptical. |
3 . Who made the ABC song? Some people say a man named Charles Bradlee made the song. He was the first person to say he owned it. That was in 1834. Bradlee called the song “The Schoolmaster”. A schoolmaster is an old name for a teacher. No one knows where it came from. But we do have some clues.
Sounds Like Another Song
The ABC song sounds the same as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. It has the same tune, or music. It sounds like “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, too. Try singing each song. Sing them in a row. You can hear for yourself! The tune was first printed in 1761. It didn’t have any words. No one knows who wrote it. Later, a woman wrote the words for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. Her name was Jane Taylor. She lived in England. She wrote the words in 1806. Mozart was a very famous composer. He wrote a piece of music in 1785. It sounds a lot like the ABC song!
We Learn Better From Songs
When the ABC song first became popular, few children went to school. Most people did not learn how to read. They did not learn how to write, either. As time went on, this changed. More people needed to know how to read and write. More children started learning the ABC song. It helped them remember the letters.
Why do we sing the ABC song? We could just read it quietly. Or we could say it without singing. Why is the song partly important? The answer is related to how we learn. Children have always leaned from grown-ups. But 200 year ago, most people couldn’t read or write. Children had to remember things. They could not write down what they learned. They could not read about it later. So it was important to remember. Songs helped people remember. People sang songs that told stories. They taught their children what they knew through songs.
So, no none really knows who made the ABC song. We do know that this song is popular today. Most children who learn to speak English will sing it. Then they will remember their letters!
1. How is the passage mainly developed?| A．By comparing. | B．By listing facts. |
| C．By telling a story. | D．By examining differences. |
| A．Charles Bradlee | B．Jane Taylor. |
| C．Mozart. | D．No one knows the answer exactly. |
| A．Songs help children remember the letters. |
| B．Songs told stories. |
| C．People can teach what they know to children through songs. |
| D．Songs help people have a happy life. |
| A．To test the readers. | B．To show the song is important. |
| C．To introduce the topic. | D．To analyze the cause and effect. |
4 . Background music may seem harmless, but it can have a powerful effect on those who hear it. Recorded background music first found its way into factories, shops and restaurants in the US. But it soon spread to other parts of the world. Now it is becoming increasingly difficult to go shopping or eat a meal without listening to music.
To begin with, “muzak” (音乐广播网) was intended simply to create a soothing (安慰) atmosphere. Recently, however，it has become big business—thanks in part to recent research. Dr. Ronald Milliman, an American marketing expert, has shown that music can boost sales or increase factory production by as much as a third.
However, it has to be light music. A fast one has no effect at all on sales. Slow music can increase receipts by 38%. This is probably because shoppers slow down and have more opportunity to spot items they like to buy. Yet, slow music isn't always the answer. Dr. Milliman found, for example, that in restaurants slow music meant customers took longer to eat their meals, which reduced overall sales. So restaurant owners might be well advised to play uptempo_music to keep the customers moving—unless of course, the resulting indigestion (消化不良) leads to complaints!
1. Background music means ________.| A．light music that customers enjoy most |
| B．fast music that makes people move fast |
| C．slow music that can make customers enjoy their meals |
| D．the music you are listening to while you are doing something |
| A．it results in indigestion |
| B．it increases their sales |
| C．it keeps customers moving |
| D．it decreases their sales |
| A．background music was first used in big department stores |
| B．proper music can increase the selling of goods |
| C．light music has a bad effect on production |
| D．restaurant owners had better play slow music to comfort their customers |
| A．slow music | B．fast music |
| C．light music | D．classical music |
